Days after President Donald Trump threatened North Korea and belittled its leader in a speech at the United Nations, a official from the isolated communist nation blasted the president from the same stage and touted his country's nuclear weapons program.

In a Saturday speech, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho called Trump "mentally deranged" and said "during his eight months in power, he has turned the White House into a noisy marketplace full of crackling sounds."

Advertisement

Related Content

On Tuesday, Trump insulted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying "Rocket Man is on a suicide mission." He also said if the U.S. "is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea."

Ri said the president's speech was an "irreversible mistake making it inevitable" that North Korean rockets one day would hit the U.S. mainland.

"None other than Trump himself is on a suicide mission," Ri said in a speech at the UN General Assembly. "In case innocent lives of the US are harmed because of this suicide attack, Trump will be held totally responsible."

The foreign minister also said the "dangerous reality (is) that the gambler who grew old using threats, frauds and all other schemes to acquire a patch of land holds the nuclear button. These are what constitute the gravest threat to the international peace and security today."

The president responded to Ri's speech in a late night tweet Saturday. Trump said if Ri "echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!"

Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!

Earlier in September, North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear weapons test, and it has regularly conducted missile tests as rhetoric between it and the U.S. has continued to rise. Those threats have been met by harsh UN sanctions, and Trump this week rolled out a new set of rules aimed at penalizing individuals and entities that do business with North Korea.

"The very reason the DPRK had to possess nuclear weapons is because of the U.S.," Ri said, condemning America's own history with nuclear weapons.

The speech came shortly after the Pentagon announced that U.S. bombers flew a mission over international waters near the east coast of North Korea that went farther north of the Demilitarized Zone than any U.S. aircraft have this century. It was characterized as a demonstration of "resolve."

Overnight, seismic activity was detected near the area where North Korea conducted its most recent nuclear test, and China's state news agency said it was because of an explosion. South Korea's weather service, however, said the minor earthquake was natural. Experts say it could have been a geological response to the test.